PS UNACCEPTABLE
The problem of violence during the party hours is getting a lot of press attention in Melbourne lately. It seems always to be assumed that it is caused by alcohol. (Personally I blame video games. Just kidding.) So it's interesting to see that, contrary to popular Australian belief, we are nowhere near the top of the scale in alcohol consumption. It would be interesting to see a chart of per-capita violence as well - maybe we drink less but fight more? Or maybe, as with consumption, it's all in our imagination and Australians don't really compare unfavourably at all. But if our violence is high and/or rising, but our alcohol consumption is not, that implies that something other than alcohol is causing the extra violence. What do people think might cause an increase in after-hours violence, if it's not alcohol?
There could also be cultural transmission. Perhaps there's a culture of machismo or of honour, inherited from the convict days or ancestral communities, which influences reactions to events (much like the way that the increased murder rate in the US South is caused by the culture of honour inherited from Scotch-Irish cattle ranchers who emigrated in the 17th century, and transmitted by example).
Maybe this has to do with prices? A friend who visited from Perth was amazed how cheap beer was in comparison to back in the AU. I know if I had to pay how much she was (2x-3x as much) for pints, I'd certainly scale back my drinking (OK, I would *try* at least)
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HALF PINT
WTF
WUT R U LIEK PURITANS OR SMTH?